Ice Queen
by Teshgirl
Summary: Will Hino Rei's frozen heart ever melt? The young priestess will discover that she has a purpose in her world.


Welcome to _Ice Queen_. :D I hope you enjoy the story as much as I liked coming up with it. This is my version of a part of the 1st season of the SM manga. In WDM I'm pretty consistent with the Japanese names and honorifics, but I didn't put the family names first. I'm trying to be more authentic. : )

Disclaimer: I do not own _Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon,_ but this story is copyright to me.

Charries and environment © Takeuchi Naoko

Story © Tesh

Thanks for reading!

Tesh : )

**Ice Queen**

_Part 1- Enter the Ice Queen_

"Hey, there she is!"

"She's so weird, isn't she?"

"Have you heard about her ESP?"

"She's such an Ice Queen."

_Ice Queen. _ The words bit into the heart of Hino Rei as her long legs led her down the corridors of TA Private Girls School, though she was not concentrating on her shoes that clicked on the waxed floor. Once again, her fellow students were not troubling to keep their voices down as they sauntered by the priestess... She closed her violet eyes, loathing the demons in gray uniforms with a searing passion.

The courtyard was empty as usual as the teen entered with her self-prepared box lunch. Once again, she would be eating alone. The autumn sun filtered through the tree branches, giving the gleaming porcelain skin of the young Shinto priestess a dappled look. Her long, exotic violet locks that cascaded down her back fell into her eyes as she bent down to straighten the skirt of her uniform when she sat on a wooden bench. Several golden leaves fluttered around her as she opened her lunch with a sigh and ate mechanically, not concentrating each carefully prepared morsel. Yes, the tuna rolls and rice were delectable, but her thoughts remained on the knife-like words of the girls. When she finished, she wiped her rosy lips, stood, and once again forced her legs to carry her class 2A.

Hino Rei was a walking enigma, and she preferred it that way. She never discussed her personal life with anyone- she didn't live near any of her classmates anyway. Besides, the other girls in her school were so childish in her opinion, especially when it came to chasing the opposite sex. Rei did not need men.

Nor did she need friends.

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"Rei-san, how are you?"

"Your hair is so shiny today!"

"You're so wonderful, Rei-san!"

_Wonderful... _Rei didn't see the word as a compliment, not coming from the same girls who had murmured scathing remarks earlier. Having a knack for ESP came in handy for seeing behind their so-called nonchalant masks.

Rei marched down the hall alone with her head held high. The fourteen-year-old did not want the other girls to see any signs of weakness, so she walked proudly. And yet... behind the exterior...

_I've always been alone_, she thought bitterly._ Always._

"Rei-sama!"

Rei snapped out of her thoughts and turned. A petite student with brown braided pigtails ran toward her. She was flushed and looked extremely uncomfortable around the older girl."Here!" she stammered, offering a small package. "These are some pastries I made in Home Ec. I've admired you since the beginning of the school year!"

Home Economics, eh? Rei thought back to the previous day...

--x--

_Rei stormed into her bedroom at the Hikawa Shrine, her violet eyes ablaze. _Again!_ she thought. She could still feel the spicy aftertaste of a botched recipe on her tongue even though she believed she had rinsed her mouth thoroughly earlier._

_Home Economics was the final class of the day, and it was a disaster._

_"Rei-san, we need to add this many eggs!"_

_"Rei-san, it's burning!"_

_"Rei-san, is it supposed to look like this?"_

_Rei couldn't handle all the girls in her small group shouting different things regarding the pie recipe. Finally, through all the commotion, they managed to shove the pastry into the oven._

_Fifteen minutes ticked by, and the pie was supposedly ready. Rei wiped her hands on her apron and bent down to open the oven, unaware that behind her the girls in her group were giggling. _It smells good_, Rei thought, smiling in spite of herself. _I'm pretty hungry.

_"Rei-san, why don't you try a piece first?"_

_"All right." Rei cut a small slice of the pie, took a bite, and choked. "Ugh, it's- it's terrible! What did we do wrong!"_

_The girls in her group smirked. "A little ingredient called pepper," one of them said._

_Rei glared at them, and stomped out of the classroom right after the bell rang. In a bathroom, she rinsed her mouth out with her hands, wishing that she had a glass. Droplets of water stained her uniform, and her violet hair covered her eyes as she clutched the sides of the ivory sink with shaking hands._

--x--

"...Thank you," Rei said coldly, accepting the package. After the girl scampered away, Rei opened it.

Rough stones fell from the package into Rei's hand.

Rei quivered and her eyes ignited. _Figures_, she thought scornfully. She deposited the package in a nearby trash barrel, and continued to her English language class.

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"Hino-san, please read paragraph two on page seventy-four," her English sensei asked.

Rei stood and began to read the paragraph. She was intelligent, and English was one of her best subjects.

" 'Today was a wonderful day. My friends and I went to the Park for a picnic. We ate sandwiches and snack foods. After we ate, we laid back on the cool grass and dozed off. We went home to my house for a sleep-over. I love my friends, and I love my life.' "

Rei sat down, feeling a little uncomfortable - she had just read a paragraph about friendship. _ Like that'd ever happen to me_, she thought, scowling.

Her classmates seemed to mirror her thoughts as they began whispering.

"Ha, Hino looks upset."

"What a snob."

Rei closed her eyes, wishing they would stop talking. The day was shaping up to be another bad day. She rested an elegant hand on her face and gazed out the window. She couldn't wait to go home.

At last, the blessed bell sounded and the school day was complete. The priestess walked home from the place they called school, also known as hell, and tried to empty her mind of the unpleasantness etched in her thoughts.

The ravens she had dubbed Phobos and Deimos swooped toward her as she entered the Hikawa Shrine, landing on her shoulders. "I'll get you guys some food, okay?" Rei said with a smile.

She changed into her shrine garb and returned outside with stale bread crumbs. She laughed when the ravens began to squabble over who would be fed first. At least Phobos and Deimos couldn't talk behind her back or laugh at her. Rei sighed.

She stepped lightly into the wide simple room, being careful not to disturb the sacred flames that awaited her. She stood in reverence for a few moments, clearing her mind. Calling upon the ancient spirits, she began a fire reading. Concentrating, she knelt down and performed the hand signs by heart, as beads of sweat ran down her angelic face.

"_Rin, pyou, tou, sha, kai, jin, retsu, sai, sen_," she chanted, faster and faster with each sequence of the sacred warriors. She had to find out- would she ever find friends? The flames had never failed her, and so she needed them now more than ever.

Tears that Rei had been holding back mingled with the sweat on her face.


End file.
